Call Of Duty League 2022 Major II/Day 3 takeaways — A Macksolute Classic

A lot of Call Of Duty happened today, with a lot of Call Of Duty things going on. The third day of the Call Of Duty League Major II presented by Mountain Dew was a banger, with a bunch of phenomenal matches and storylines and not a 3-0 in sight. Everyone here deserved to be here, and it made for a fantastic day of eSports. Without further ado, let’s get right into the mix.

Optic Texas vs Los Angeles Thieves

• That one was a bit too close for comfort… again. Somehow the Thieves dropped a 2-0 on Optic early, and it was up to them to dig their way out. But Optic is no stranger to that, having done it already on LAN this year versus Atlanta Faze. They opened up the reverse sweep with a dominant Tuscan Control and Berlin Hardpoint, then closed it out with another comeback on the Tuscan Search and Destroy.
• Shotzzy and Dashy owned the map in even in the maps they lost. They finished +38 and +37 in kills… yeah, you heard that right, positive by 75 kills between them. It was a bloodbath, helmed by the AR and SMG phenoms.
• As impressive as the 3-0 Control might have been, the Berlin Hardpoint might have been moreso. So far Optic had been 1-4 on the map, and the Thieves sat at a 4-3. Optic opened up a whooping on them on this one, trashing them by +38 kills, and it seemed like LAT just couldn’t find the point without bullets ripping them to shreds.

• It was a hard fought one, but the fact the Thieves even made this close is almost unbelievable. If you look at their 2-0 opening, you see a ton of mistakes by Optic. LAT still got outslayed in the Tuscan Hardpoint, and only their fantastic final rotations saved them from this one ending earlier.
• That being said, they were outslayed today by 77 kills. That’s an insane stat, but it’s more insane that a pro team could let that happen to them. You don’t win many games being trashed like that, and even though we saw Boston overcome Florida last Major down 53 kills, it just doesn’t happen that often. It’s the exception, not the rule.
• Even though the Thieves made it mixy, I’m not sure if this roster stays intact after the weekend closes. They looked lost versus one of the best teams in the league, and it’s not like they looked fantastic versus New York, even with some big time plays that gave them their own reverse sweep. It’s not working, and I think we’re all surprised Jkap hasn’t done anything yet given how often he blew it up last season.

Florida Mutineers vs Boston Breach

• Another day where Florida gets some slaying done yet still manages to keep getting bullied. Sure, they brought it back, forcing the Game 5, but they got bullied on the Desert Siege S&D. Admittedly, we should have seen it coming, Florida this season is 0-3 on Desert Siege and 0-2 in Game 5s.
• The good news for the Mutineers is that Skyz keeps performing. He had +8 kills for a 1.12 KD in this one to lead the Florida lobby. His 34 kills on the Berlin Hardpoint were instrumental in them taking this one to the final map.
• Beyond that, everything really started when the SMG duo took over the Control. Vivid and Owakening combined for 42 kills in the 3-0 beatdown, Vivid with a ridiculous 2.20 KD. Boston had no chance with Florida playing like that, especially considering Skyz only had to put up 15 kills.

• Another close one versus Florida, although it wasn’t as lopsided in the slaying department. That being said, Nero had a rough day. He kept getting caught out, never dropping a positive scoreline through all 5 maps and finishing -17. He’s got to pick it up versus a Faze team who won’t let them get freebies.
• Methodz continues his run to remind all of us he’s a top AR in Vanguard, dropping a 1.29 KD on +17 kills. He, like the rest of his team, got trounced in the Control, but he was a big part of why Boston opened with a W and ended with one.
• The question from here is obvious, can they beat Faze? This Boston team is playing way better than the one back at the first Major that Faze knocked down twice on a 6-1 map count. That being said, the Controls giving them such trouble could cost on Sunday.

Seattle Surge vs Atlanta Faze

• I know Mack was playing sick, and they had to stop the opening Hardpoint because of it, with the poor guy throwing up. But you can’t tell me that’s the reason Seattle lost. Mack was actually the only player on his team positive, with +8 kills and a 1.08, and an incredible 47/29 on Bocage to send it to Game 5 and hand Atlanta their first HP loss on the map. I doubt he would use the way he was feeling in that one as a crutch; he wasn’t feeling good yesterday either, but he still was a driving force in making the entire game uncomfortable for Faze. We wish the young gun a speedy recovery.
• As much as it seemed like it’d be their perfect Control map after they finished 2-0 on it at the Kickoff Classic, Seattle has been 1-5 on it since. Even worse is that Faze has been abysmal on this map, so Faze making the choice to play here shows how horribly the Surge has been there.
• In all fairness there wasn’t a lot more I think you could have done. They had two clutches in the middle rounds that kept Atlanta from running away with it, taking it to a round 11. The first was Atlanta planting at B and Simp somehow flying towards the bomb with Pred staring him down, but the second was somewhat unforgivable with aBeZy going right up to the bomb for Accuracy to blast him off of it, and he was in position to keep Arcitys off it. They were always in it, and they can hold their heads high based on that.

• After a restart, Faze took the opening Hardpoint with some great breaks after going down pretty heavily at the start. Cellium and aBeZy were absolute monsters on that one, finishing up with a 1.65 KD and 1.35 KD respectively. Also, if you didn’t notice, Cellium pulled out his own Volk, jumping on the nerdy stuff like we knew he would. It worked pretty decently for him if we do say so.
• You always lose eventually, and the streak on Bocage is now over. What was a bit more concerning was watching Simp and aBeZy both drop 40 times a piece. Simp in particular had a tough series, and while they might have been keying in on him you hope he’ll find that difference making play he’s capable of.
• It was too close for comfort in the S&Ds, even if they managed to pull off the round 11 win on Berlin. This squad was up 4-2 twice, and got burned for 3 straight rounds twice to go down 5-4. They got caught 6-4 on Tuscan, but even with the win on the last map this team needs to get their S&D together, because there will be up to six to play on Championship Sunday. Also, if Arcitys could not go and stun and nade himself that’d be great. Or go ahead if you’re gonna grab two kills right after.

Florida Mutineers vs Optic Texas

• Okay, that was unexpected. We thought the Thieves might have had the best shot all tournament to knock out the defending Major I champs, but Florida got spicy and beat Optic 3-1 to advance. After that Control you had to think the Mutineers had to be worried about yet another comeback, but they quickly shut that down in a Berlin Hardpoint that wasn’t as close as the final score showed.
• What was close was the ridiculous opening Gavutu Hardpoint. Florida may have had some COD luck on their side, but you still have to win your ones. Wiping 3 players at Ring to break the hill isn’t easy, especially against Optic, but they managed to get it done en route to the 250-248 nail biter.
• Again, Skyz is just player of the match in this one right? The man had +19 kills, nicely bookended with his 1.31 KD. His 11/2 Berlin Search and Destroy looked effortless, as the clutch after clutch gave them a 2-0 lead.

• You never want to go home, but Optic fell out of this one earlier than they probably expected. Dropping to losers in the first round certainly makes the run tough, but with how good this team is it was at least doable. But, any given Saturday can happen. It was one thing to rebound versus the Thieves, it was another to go down 0-2 versus a Florida squad that is completely momentum based. Yeah, you can blame some unfortunate spawns, but you have to win even when the cards are stacked against you, and Optic missed the mark.
• For how much he dominated the LAT matchup, Shotzzy disappeared in this one a bit. He finished with a .99 KD and -1 kill, and even though better than the -15 of his counterpart Vivid, the 16-25 performance on the Berlin Hardpoint was the dagger that sent Optic home.
• The question as always will be where everything goes from here. Obviously this team isn’t blowing anything up, nor does it need to. They just have to adjust, because in the month layover before everything starts back up teams will catch up and get better. Any missteps and you risk losing your hold on the S tier.

Los Angeles Guerillas vs Seattle Surge

• In the battle of the substitutes, Los Angeles emerged the victor. We usually say it’s never chalked to describe the other purple team, but LAG has had that attitude all tournament long and it’s produced some great results for them. Because of that, they’re heading into Championship Sunday with a chance to make it to the finals.
• It definitely wasn’t an easy road. The Guerrillas dropped both Hardpoints, including a Berlin they’ll want to have back. SlasheR was oddly human on that one, with -11 kills on a map you’d think would suit him more than the competition. On the Tuscan they just kept getting out-rotated and broken, with Seattle putting up a furious pace they couldn’t keep up with.
• One way or another, it seems like this run will depend on what Huke manages on Sunday. He didn’t have the worst scoreline, and even was a big reason they pulled off the Tuscan S&D, but a lot of the series it felt like he was getting picked at the worst moments. Moving forward he’s going to have to face the likes of Vivid/Owakening, Capsidal/Nero, and Simp/aBeZy. Can he step it up in the clutch moments versus world class competition?

• Anytime you have a starter out, especially one with such passion as Mack, it stings. But Classic played pretty admirably, even clutching up the Berlin with a nice two piece to send it to a game 5. For a guy who just got played a bunch of Challengers matches to have to step in, it didn’t look like too much of a drop off, beyond Macks pop off ability.
• That being said, Seattle choked away their best chance in the series on the Control. You shouldn’t have a round 5 defense and drop the ball like that. There was a moment where the lives were tied 22-22, and before you knew it they were 17-10. LAGs guns got hot, but Seattle kept getting caught out of position and challenging players they probably shouldn’t have. All credit to Los Angeles, but Seattle should have been able to get that dub, they just flubbed it.
• There’s a lot to take from this tournament, and they’ve got to look over the tape and do exactly what they did here. This team felt like it was meshing perfectly, and while the rookies were definitely doing their thing, helping Mack play more consistently during the regular season matches will help Seattle get over the hump. That kid is a star, we saw his impact on New York in Modern Warfare and the way he could take over a map at a moments notice in Cold War. Find the best ways to get the most out of him.

Don’t forget that there are two matches today where we don’t know what they will be, so we can’t predict them. Because of that, we’ll be only doing takeaways as we progress through day 4. Stay tuned to Gaming Trend for our takeaways as Major II continues, and we’ll do our best to bring you content here and on our YouTube channel! You can follow the league both live and after hours on the official Call Of Duty League YouTube channel right here. If you want to jump into the game, check out CallOfDuty.com, and if you want to know more about it first, check out our review right here.

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